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Tutorial

The tutorial documents each step to follow to create the application. Every step is documented concisely, so a complete beginner can create this application without any additional knowledge. However, no explanation is offered for any of the steps, so if you are a beginner, you’re advised to look for an introduction to Rails elsewhere. See a list of recommended resources for Rails.

If you simply wish to modify the application for your own project, you can download the application and set it up as described below, without following the tutorial.

What Is Implemented — and What Is Not

This is a demonstration application that allows you to visit a home page and see a list of users. With the default user’s email and password (supplied below), you can log in and view details for each user. You can customize this app as you need.

Installing MongoDB

If you don’t have MongoDB installed on your computer, you’ll need to install it and set it up to be always running on your computer (run at launch). On Mac OS X, the easiest way to install MongoDB is to install Homebrew and then run the following:

brew install mongodb

Homebrew will provide post-installation instructions to get MongoDB running. The last line of the installation output shows you the MongoDB install location (for example, /usr/local/Cellar/mongodb/1.8.0-x86_64). You’ll find the MongoDB configuration file there. After an installation using Homebrew, the default data directory will be /usr/local/var/mongodb.

Getting the Application

You have several options for getting the code.

Fork, Clone, or Generate?

Fork: If you’d like to add features (or bug fixes) to improve the example application, you can fork the GitHub repo and make pull requests. Your code contributions are welcome!

Clone: If you want to copy and customize the app with changes that are only useful for your own project, you can clone the GitHub repo. You’ll need to search-and-replace the project name throughout the application. You probably should generate the app instead (see below).

Generate: If you want to use the project as a starter app for your customized application, use the application template to generate a new version of the example app. You’ll be able to give it your own project name when you generate the app. Generating the application (described below) gives you many options.

Clone the Repository

If you simply wish to examine the example code, you can download the code (“clone the repository”) with the command

$ git clone git://github.com/RailsApps/rails3-mongoid-devise.git

The source code is managed with Git (a version control system). You’ll need Git on your machine (install it from http://git-scm.com/).

Using the Ready-Made Application Template

You can use an application template to generate a new version of the example app. You’ll find an application template for this app in the Rails Application Templates repository.

To build the “rails3-mongoid-devise” example application, run the command:

You can choose other selections if you don’t care about matching the example application exactly.

Use “Recipes” to Customize an Application Template

The tutorial shows how a customized application template can be assembled from “recipes.” The application template was created using the Rails Apps Composer gem which provides a convenient way to assemble a reusable application template by selecting various “recipes” for popular Rails development packages.

Please Remember: Edit the README

If you’re open sourcing the app on GitHub, please edit the README file to add a description of the app and your contact info. Changing the README is important if you’re using a clone of the example app. I’ve been mistaken (and contacted) as the author of apps that are copied from my example.

Install the Required Gems

Keep in mind that you have installed these gems locally. When you deploy the app to another server, the same gems (and versions) must be available.

Configure Mongoid

Mongoid provides access to the MongoDB database from Rails.

You can use the default configuration found in the file config/mongoid.yml.

If you want to see what’s in your MongoDB databases, I recommend using the MongoHub app (for Mac OS X).

Configure Email

You must configure the app for your email account if you want your application to send email messages, for example, if you’ve generated the application with the option to install the Devise :confirmable module.

Use a Gmail account

If you’ve generated the application with the option to use a Gmail account to send email, you’ll need to modify the files config/environments/development.rb and config/environments/production.rb to include your Gmail username and password.

You can replace ENV["GMAIL_USERNAME"] and ENV["GMAIL_PASSWORD"] with your Gmail username and password. However, committing the file to a public GitHub repository will expose your secret password.

If you’re familiar with setting Unix environment variables, it’s advisable to leave config.action_mailer.smtp_settings unchanged and set your environment variables in the file that is read when starting an interactive shell (the ~/.bashrc file for the bash shell). This will keep the password out of your repository.

Are you using a bash shell? Use echo $SHELL to find out. For a bash shell, edit the ~/.bashrc file and add:

Configure ActionMailer

The example application is set to deliver email in both development and production. It will raise delivery errors in development but not production.

In development, config.action_mailer.default_url_options is set for a host at localhost:3000 which will enable links in Devise confirmation email messages to work properly. You’ll need to change the config.action_mailer.default_url_options host option from example.com to your own domain for the production environment.

You can change these values as needed in the config/environments/development.rb and config/environments/production.rb files.

Configure Devise for Email

Complete your email configuration by modifying

config/initializers/devise.rb

and setting the config.mailer_sender option for the return email address for messages that Devise sends from the application.

Configure Devise

You can modify the configuration file for Devise if you want to use something other than the defaults:

config/initializers/devise.rb

Create a Default User

Set Up a Database Seed File

You’ll want to set up a default user so you can easily log in to test the app. You can modify the file db/seeds.rb for your own name, email and password:

Use the defaults or change the values for name, email, and password as you wish.

Set the Database

Prepare the database and add the default user to the database by running the commands:

$ bundle exec rake db:seed

Set the database for running tests:

$ bundle exec rake db:test:prepare

Test the App

You can check that your app runs properly by entering the command

$ rails server

To see your application in action, open a browser window and navigate to http://localhost:3000/. You should see the default user listed on the home page. When you click on the user’s name, you should be required to log in before seeing the user’s detail page.

To sign in as the default user, (unless you’ve changed it) use

email: user@example.com

password: please

You should delete or change the pre-configured logins before you deploy your application.

Issues

Please create an issue on GitHub if you identify any problems or have suggestions for improvements.

Where to Get Help

Your best source for help with problems is Stack Overflow. Your issue may have been encountered and addressed by others.

You can also try Rails Hotline, a free telephone hotline for Rails help staffed by volunteers.

Contributing

If you make improvements to this application, please share with others.

Send the author a message, create an issue, or fork the project and submit a pull request.

If you add functionality to this application, create an alternative implementation, or build an application that is similar, please contact me and I’ll add a note to the README so that others can find your work.

Contributors

License

Public Domain Dedication

This work is a compilation and derivation from other previously released works. With the exception of various included works, which may be restricted by other licenses, the author or authors of this code dedicate any and all copyright interest in this code to the public domain. We make this dedication for the benefit of the public at large and to the detriment of our heirs and successors. We intend this dedication to be an overt act of relinquishment in perpetuity of all present and future rights to this code under copyright law.